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Hurricane Chantal (1989)
Hurricane Chantal was the third named storm and first hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season. Chantal developed north of the Yucatan Peninsula in late July, and ultimately made landfall along the upper Texas coast near Sea Rim State Park as a Category 1 hurricane. Chantal produced flooding, but did not cause extreme damage. Chantal caused $100,000,000 (1989 USD) and killed 13 people. Hurricane Chantal at landfall http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6817/chantalpn7.jpg Formation July 30, 1989 Dissipation August 3, 1989 Highest winds 80 mph Lowest pressure 986 mbar Deaths 13 direct Damages $100,000,000 (1989 USD) Areas affected Texas, Louisiana Part of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season Meteorological history http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8526/chantaltrackmp1.png The instigator to Hurricane Chantal can not be traced back to a tropical wave. Rather, it was first detected as a peturbation within the ITCZ on July 24 near Trinidad. The wave moved westward across the Carribean Sea with little development until it approached Honduras on July 27. By 1800 UTC July 28, surface observations indicated that the wave spawned a surface low near Belize City, Belize. Despite this, the system remained disorganized over the following 24 hours due to moving across the Yucatan Peninsula. At 0900 UTC July 30, satellite imagery indicates that the wave began to become better organized, in spite of still being rather close to the Yucatan Peninsula. At 1200 UTC July 30, based on satellite imagery and ship reports, the wave is estimated to have developed into Tropical Depression Four while located about 80 miles north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Operationally, it was not classified until 1900 UTC. At 0600 UTC July 31, the depression is estimated to have strengthened into a tropical storm while located around 310 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas. Chantal moved northwestward due to a weak ridge located over Florida. At 2200 UTC July 31, Chantal is estimated to have become a hurricane, as per reports from a reconnaissance aircraft. Chantal reached its peak intensity of 80 mph just before landfall along the upper Texas coast near High Island at 1300 UTC August 1. After landfall, Chantal gradually weakened, and dissipated by 0600 UTC August 3 while over southwestern Oklahoma. Preparations As Chantal became a hurricane, a Hurricane Warning was issued from Freeport, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana. Impact 'Gulf of Mexico' Chantal killed one person on an offshore oil rig during an evacuation. In addition, ten other people were killed when a lifeboat capsized south of Morgan City, Louisiana. Four other passengers aboard the aforementioned lifeboat were rescued by the United States Coast Guard. 'Texas' Chantal produced a wind gust of 82 mph in Galveston, and also produced heavy rainfall in excess of 7 to 12 inches across southern and eastern Texas. In addition, the hurricane caused significant beach erosion along the upper Texas coast. Chantal produced heavy rainfall well inland, and the hurricane damaged around 3,000 homes. In addition, a large of number of trees and signs were damaged by the cyclone. Two people in Texas drowned when their raft overturned during flooding. Several motorists were also stranded within floodwater produced by the hurricane. 'Midwest' Chantal's remnants produced severe weather from Nebraska to the Great Lakes. The cyclone's remnants produced around 3 inches of rain in Nebraska, along with some hail and hurricane force wind gusts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Around 3 inches of rain was reported in Chicago within a three hour period, which caused some isolated street flooding. Total damage in the midwest from Hurricane Chantal was minimal, and no injuries or casualties were reported in the region. http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4944/chantalrainfallrn5.gif Lack of Retirement Because damage was relatively minor, the name Chantal was not retired by the World Meteorological Organization. It is on the list of names to be used for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. See also * NHC Chantal report References http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1989-prelim/chantal/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Chantal_(1989) External links 1989 Atlantic hurricane season